The 65-year-old former Liverpool player, who was the manager at Anfield from 1994 to 1998 before being replaced by Gerard Houllier, is the latest in a line of former Reds stars to come out in support of Rodgers, comparing the Northern Irishman with the late Shankly.

'Shanks would be saying now exactly the same as Brendan is. He’d be saying: let’s win our two games and put City under pressure', explained Evans.

Liverpool's disappointing 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Anfield last weekend now sees their title hopes hanging in the balance with just two games left to play in the Premier League. Rodgers’ side take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday with title rivals Manchester City facing Everton on Saturday evening. Should the Citizens win their game, then they will overtake the Reds at the summit on goal difference.

However, Rodgers will undoubtedly not be giving up on the title – there are still six points to play for and he will, as Evans suggests, be instilling that belief in his players that all they can do is focus on giving their best to take maximum points.

'(Manchester) City have not been perfect', he continued. 'They have to go to Everton and get a result and that’s not a foregone conclusion.

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As the pundits on Match of the Day 2 discussed, Mourinho’s parking of the bus (or two buses even) with two solid and organised banks of four set up to defend and break up play for 90 minutes at Anfield is a mark of how afraid of Liverpool’s threat the Special One is.

The irony is, of course, that Mourinho criticised West Ham’s Sam Allardyce for deploying much the same strategy against the Blues earlier on this season but Mourinho’s hypocrisy in that instance is something Rodgers can take as an enormous compliment.

It may well not be pretty to watch, but it is the same approach opposition teams adopt when facing the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and the fact that Chelsea opted to take this approach only emphasises how threatening Rodgers and his Reds are to the Premier League and, next season, the continent.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this disappointing defeat, it’s that Liverpool scare the living daylights out of Jose Mourinho and, on another day, without the skipper’s slip, and with more defensive durability, Liverpool have the makings of becoming titans of Europe on a par with the most devastating attacking teams in world football.

Be afraid, be very afraid, is really what the Blues boss’ war cry called out to the Kop. Take it as a compliment and, above all else, get used to it.

Jenny Leigh

Jennifer is a freelance writer and filmmaker from London with a great passion for football - the game, the business, and the culture. Jennifer hopes to provide readership with a high standard of news, analysis, and opinion over a range of football events, stories, and issues.